THE GAMBLER, directed by Karel Reisz, stars James Caan in a difficult role as Alex Freed, a compulsive gambler with many inner demons, who is completely out of control. He can't resist a bad bet because that's where the "juice" is. While his irrational rationalizations--largely influenced by Dostoyevsky, whose novel, THE GAMBLER, he teaches to his students at City College--might seem like a lot of existential hot air, they are well dramatized, making his descent downward believable even as his actions become increasingly frenetic.
Reisz provides a sound realism to the THE GAMBLER's settings both in Las Vegas and on the streets of New York. Made at the same time as Robert Altman's CALIFORNIA SPLIT, which attempted to visually create the internal world of the compulsive gambler, here Reisz presents a gritty realism to the world of bookies, loan sharks, and their violent enforcers. He relies on Caan, generally a more physical actor, to portray the cultured intellectual who loves Mahler, but is obsessed with danger. Caan starts slowly, and with the help of Lauren Hutton in a good performance as Billie, his predictable blond girlfriend, he illuminates the world of gambling in this tense, realistic film.
The editor, Roger Spottiswood, would later direct Nick Nolte in UNDER FIRE.
Shot in New York City and Las Vegas, Nevada.
James Caan's brother Ronnie was the assistant to the producer.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterbox - 1.85
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Dolby Digital Mono - French
Interactive Features:
Scene Selection
Interactive Menus
Director of Photography
Victor J. Kemper: Director of Photography, AUTHOR! AUTHOR! (1982)
Music Director
Jerry Fielding:
Production Designer
Philip Rosenberg: Production Designer
Costume Designer
Albert Wolsky: Costume Designer, JARHEAD (2005)
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